Like with many aspects of Hollywood and the film industry, you can’t take the annual “Black List” too seriously. The survey of the “most liked” unproduced screenplays can be a valuable tool, a way for studios and filmmakers to discover talented writers and brilliant screenplays. It can also be political and silly, as a glance at previous years’ lists can prove. But the fact remains that Black List movies have often been critical and financial juggernauts. Sometimes, this is a list of the best movies you’ll see get made over the next few years. Sometimes.
The 2017 Black List has been revealed, so take a look at the titles and the attached talent. You may very well be seeing some of these movies realized on the big screen pretty soon.
But first: some statistics. Since the creation of the Black List in 2005 by development executive Franklin Leonard, more than 300 spotlighted films have been made, grossing $ 26 billion at the international box office and winning 50 Academy Awards. 10 of the past 20 Best Screenplay winners at the Oscars were featured on the Black List.
Previous Black List scripts include Adventureland, Prisoners, Whiplash, Spotlight, Zodiac, In Bruges, Juno, The Wolf of Wall Street, Looper, The Social Network, The Wrestler, Michael Clayton, Argo, The Prestige, There Will Be Blood, Inglourious Basterds, The King’s Speech, Take This Waltz, Arrival, John Wick, Manchester by the Sea, and many, many more successful and acclaimed films. Last year’s list included several noteworthy 2017 releases, including The Post and I, Tonya.
Past editions of the list have also included Hancock, Meet Dave, Transcendence, Dirty Grandpa, Abduction, Snow White and the Huntsman, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, 47 Ronin, Yes Man, Passengers, Seven Pounds, and Dracula Untold. In other words, this list doesn’t immediately equal quality, as “most liked” is purely subjective and it’s very, very easy to screw up a good screenplay when you actually try to film it.
So, without further ado, here are the films featured on the the 2017 Black List. Let’s see how many of them get made over the next few years.
All My Life by Todd Rosenberg
American Tabloid by Adam Morrison
Arc of Justice by Max Borenstein and Rodney Barnes
The Boxer by Justine Juel Gillmer
Ballerina by Shay Hatten
Bios by Craig Luck and Ivor Powell
Brosio by Mattson Tomlin
Breaking News in Yuba County by Amanda Idoko
Call Jane by Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi
Cancer Inc by Marc Macaluso
Come As You Are by Zach Baylin
Daddio by Christy Hall
Don’t Be Evil by Gabriel Diani, Etta Devine and Evan Bates
Dorothy & Alice by Justin Merz
Escape by JD Payne & Patrick McKay
Escape from the North Pole by Paul Laudiero & Ben Baker
The Expansion Project by Leo Sardarian
The Fifth Nixon by Sharon Hoffman
Fubar by Brent Hyman
Gadabout by Ross Evans
George by Jeremy Michael Cohen
The Great Nothing by Cesar Vitale
Green Rush by Matt Tente
Greenland by Chris Sparling
The Grown Up, by Natalie Krinsky
Hack by Mike Schneider
Health and Wellness by Joe Epstein
The Heart of the Beast by Cameron Alexander
Hughes by Andrew Rothschild
Infinite by Ian Shorr
Innocent Monsters by Elaina Perpelitt
Jellyfish Summer by Sarah Jane inwards
Jihotties by Molly Prather
Kate by Umair Aleem
Keeper of the Diary by Evan Kilgore and Samuel V. Franco
Key of Genius by Daniel Persitz and Devon Kliger
Kill Shelter by Eric Beu and Greg Martin
The Kingbreaker by Andrew Bozalis and Derek Mether
Let Her Speak by Mario Correa
Liberation by Darby Kealy
Little Boy by Hayley Schore & Roshan Sethi
Lionhunters by Will Beall
The Lodge by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala
Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know by Jade Bartlett
The Man from Tomorrow by Jordan Barel
Meat by Logan Martin
The Mother by Misha Green
Moxie by Heather Quinn
Newsflash by Ben Jacoby
On by Ryan Jennifer Jones
One Thousand Paper Cranes by Ben Bolea
The Other Lamb by Catherine S. McMullen
Panopticon by Emily Jerome
The Poison Squad by Dreux Moreland and Joey DePaolo
Power by Mattson Tomlin
The Prospect by Ben Epstein
Queen Elizabeth by Shatara Michelle Ford
Rodney & Sheryl by Ian MacAllister-McDonald
Ruin by Matthew Firpo and Ryan Firpo
Ruthless by John Swetnam
The Savoirs by Travis Betz and Kevin Hamedani
Skyward by Joe Ballarini
Sleep Well Tonight by Freddie Skov
The Sleepover by Sarah Rothschild
Social Justice Warrior by Emma Fletcher & Brett Weiner
Strongman by Nicholas Jacobson-Larson & Dalton Leeb
The Thing About Jellyfish by Molly Smith Metzler
This Is Jane by Dan Loflin
Trapline by Brett Treacy and Dan Woodward
V.I.N. by Chiara Towne
Valedictorian by Cosmo Carlson
When in Doubt, Seduce by Allie Hagan
When Lightning Strikes by Anna Klassen
Where I End by Imran Zaidi
The White Devils by Leon Hedrix III
Wyler by Michael Moskowitz
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